Sure, Palm Springs is known for celebrity-spotting, golf, Rat Pack-era lounges and sunny, dry weather. Streets pulse with retro décor boutiques, dance clubs and well-dressed residents. But I've come for the town's other showstoppers: midcentury modern architecture and natural wonders. Most visitors miss the exquisite waterfalls, streams and California fan palm oases sheltered by mountain ranges — the San Bernardino to the north, San Jacinto to the west, Santa Rosa to the south and Little San Bernardino to the east.

In this modernist destination, you can tour midcentury gems such as the “Honeymoon Hideaway” where Elvis and Priscilla Presley resided after their wedding. It's hard not to gape at the sleek metal-glass-stone modernist homes such as the 1946-47 Kaufmann House, designed by Richard Neutra to blend into the mountain backdrop. Built for a retail tycoon, its residents have included Barry Manilow. William Krisel's daring butterfly, A-frame and flat rooflines distinguish the Twin Palms Estates vacation homes built by George and Robert Alexander 1957-58. The Palm Springs City Hall, a visionary Albert Frey design built in 1952, boasts many nifty features: palm trees soar through an opening in the portico, angled metal pipes form a sunshade and an aluminum screen casts patterns that shift as the sun crosses the sky.

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Next year, the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center will open in a 1961 bank building designed by E. Stewart Williams. Until then, the downtown museum holds terrific glass works, sculptures and other art, most loaned or donated by the city's residents. Speaking of art, a 26-foot-tall Marilyn is on display downtown through June. In “Forever Marilyn,” sculptor Seward Johnson depicts the revealing flouncy-skirt image from “The Seven Year Itch.”

The natural wonders can be experienced many ways. Hike short or long trails through Indian Canyons. Ride a 10-minute cable-car tram ride 8,516 feet from desert floor to alpine forest up the slope of Mount San Jacinto. Or take a tour along the San Andreas fault — where you can actually walk atop the famous fault line.

A short bike ride south of downtown Palm Springs leads to Indian Canyons. The Agua Caliente reservation has restored its tribal land to a pristine oasis. During a guided hike, ranger Rocky Toyama (who recently retired) explains that hunter-gatherer people relied on the still-abundant native plants for nutrition, medicine, sandals, tools and shelter.

Rushing brooks and waterfalls peek between majestic palms; mountains ring sun-washed meadows. On my own, I hike eight miles along Murray Canyon and the Seven Sisters Trails. They lead to magnificent views, such as adjacent canyons from high plateau overlooks, and stacks of vaulted rock that seem left unfinished by some ancient spirit.

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IF YOU GO

Getting there:Many roundtrip flight options include a five-hour one-stop on United from $322, a four-hour one-stop on US Airways from $477. Palm Springs Airport is just three miles from downtown.

The Saguaro Palm Springs: This modernish escape is bright, colorful and super-comfy. Packages such as a stay with a spa treatment from $149 a night. 1800 E. Palm Canyon Dr. 877-808-1439, thesaguaro.com

Then there are magnificent surprises such as a jungle-like stream bed shaded by indigenous California fan palms ( Washingtonia filifera), some 45 feet tall. A plummeting waterfall framed by boulders resembles a film set for a prehistoric movie. No wonder this oasis is a favorite for fashion shoots.

The next day, I head 20 minutes southeast of downtown into the Coachella Valley Preserve to hike the San Andreas fault zone, formed by the collision of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. Here lies a moonscape decorated with boulders colored burnt orange and dusty rose, silver and cream by the minerals reacting to centuries of wind and water erosion.

While I scan the ground for fractures, naturalist and Desert Adventures guide Eric Harmon unspools a crash-course in earthquakes 101, the resourcefulness of the local Cahuilla people, and the roles of birds, coyote and other wildlife in the local ecosystem.

As we squeeze into a narrow slot canyon curving a half-mile through what I hope is solid rock, I wonder how many claustrophobics have passed up this mystical little journey that requires nimble footwork and frequent hand support. Then, midway through the passage, Harmon casually remarks, “the area is due for another quake.” Yikes.

Fortunately, there's no seismic activity, so I return to town and resume my architectural explorations. The Orbit In is a fine 1947 example of modernist-era boutique hotels with palm-shaded pools. Its funky 1950s furnishings include Eames chairs, kidney-shaped coffee tables and white enameled kitchenettes.

Prefer black-and-white minimalism? There's the Horizon, designed in 1952 by William F. Cody. Badminton nets adorn the lawn between the rooms, whose walls and roofs are so perfectly angled that I unconsciously respond by squaring my shoulders and straightening my posture. Love Hollywood regency glam? The Viceroy awaits with funky cool-cat quarters and sleek rows of cabanas.

Other classics tease the eye: the Riviera, a mod, recently re-glamorized Sinatra favorite; the Skylark Hotel, newly restored to its 1955 glory.

Robin Soslow, an East Coast-based writer who covers art, culture, food and the outdoors mainly by bicycle, can be reached at rsoslow@gmail.com.